Traces - the fascination of the palimpsest

I am thinking seriously about submitting an application to exhibit as part of the Trace project in Bristol. The brief is to 'create work with an idea that there is a Trace – a Trace of something that once belonged, a Trace of something that once happened, a Trace of a suggestion.'

With an academic background in history, principally architectural and medieval history, I have become fascinated by the idea of the palimpsest – where buildings have been altered, remodelled and re-purposed, leaving the traces of their previous selves in roof lines, arches, and the outlines of former windows. In 2010 I visited Tretower, a medieval house north of the Brecon Beacons which was developed between the 14th and 17th centuries. Evidence of the changes to the structure abound in the architecture, but I was particularly interested in the layers of painted plaster which are evident in some of the rooms. As the plaster flakes, it reveals preceding layers of colour and texture, telling the story of human habitation and domestic life through four centuries.

I took extensive photographs, determined that I would work with these images and concepts in some way in the future. Maybe this brief is my opportunity - to juxtapose the photographs with textile pieces which use layering, abrasion and distressing to interpret the idea of trace and palimpsest.

The timescale is quite tight, but even if I don't quite make it to submitting work for this exhibition, I think I want to do this work - to make art which is, at this time of personal change and re-evaluation, exploring the hidden layers of being which are both under the surface, and also fundamental to the nature of present and future.